VI.
Eira.
"39.3°C..." The thermometer read. I looked down upon my sister with a worried look, then she looked back at me with a cute pout on her face. "What happened?"
"I think it was because of fatigue..."
"Resting is also part of training, you know." I gently reminded.
Hanako pouted. "Yes, yes. I'm sorry. I was just pressured because of Dad..."
I shook my head, then patted her head. "Hanako... don't worry too much about our parents. I'm sure they're proud of you regardless."
"Nee-san, we both know that is not true." Her lips tugged downwards.
I sighed. Our father didn't like the idea of Hanako joining the volleyball club because he thought it didn't suit the likes of us. Mom convinced him under the condition that she's going to excel at it, basically at everything we set our heart to. For he engraved it on our minds that failure is never an option, both in etiquette, academics and the likes.
He wanted a son to carry his name, but he was blessed with two daughters. It was typical for a family with an elite status to have arranged marriages as it was dated back to our great-grandparents. That's one of the reasons why he enrolled us in personality development classes, to groom the perfect daughters and soon to be wife.
Father's standards are high, so a man worthy of his first born is yet to come. Right now, I am burdened with the duties of the first born, studying hard to achieve satisfactory marks. And I am eager to please.
"Nee-chan, you seem worried."
"I am. About you. Please don't get sick anymore."
"I don't think that's possible..." Hanako yawned, rubbing her tired eyes.
"Are you sleepy? Do you want me to call the doctor to check on you tomorrow?"
She shook her head, smiling faintly. "No need. I'll just sleep it all off then I'll be good as new."
"Then do you want me to stay and look after you?"
She chuckled. "Nee-san, you're such a worry-wart. It's just a slight fever."
"But it's still fever! Don't underestimate it." I draped a gentle hand on her warm forehead, then on her neck. She chuckled again and took my hand.
"You can't take any unnecessary absences, you know."
Then I winced, absences also affects my performance. "But who'll take care of you?"
"I have Kuro-chan to keep me company."
I sighed. Not talking her out of this, I guess. I stood up, taking bowl of ice water with me. "Alright. I'll just buy you some more medicines and fruits on my way home."
Me:
Nii-san, Hanako has fever. What should I do?
Nii-san:
She should drink lots of water and get a lot of rest. See if you can make some porridge for her.
Me:
But I don't know how to cook.
Nii-san:
I'll send you my mom's recipe.
Me:
Yes, please. Thank you.
Nii-san:
Anything for my cute sisters ;)
Me:
We'll visit sometime soon. :)
Nii-san:
I can hardly wait!
My sister is sick, which means that I had to make my own bento. It wouldn't be that hard, right? I'll just make some simple egg rolls and tonkatsu. But it proved to be easier said than done.
"Your sister cooked your bento again? Let's swap!" Mari-san beamed with an excited tone. We swap bentos sometimes because she loved my little sister's cooking. I slowly unwrapped the mint green cloth and opened the bento, watching her face slowly morph into confusion. Does it look that bad? "Well, uh... I guess Hana-chan has her bad days, too..." She sweat-dropped.
"She's sick so I made my own bento." I admitted shyly.
Then she got excited again. "Woah, really?! Eira-chan's cooking!"
"Wait, it's my—"
Before I could finish my sentence, she took a slice of rolled egg and immediately took a bite of it. She chewed happily before she slightly winced.
"—first time cooking..." I muttered in embarrassment.
"There's something crunchy..." She took out something from her mouth. "Oh... an egg shell. Is it a new ingredient?" She laughed awkwardly.
My shoulders sagged in disappointment. "Does it taste that bad?"
"I-it's not bad for your first time. It's tasty in its own way, don't worry!" Mari-san flailed her arms around. "Right, Ayume?"
"What?" Ayume-san looked up from her book, giving us a confused look.
Instead of replying, Mari-san shoved another piece of rolled egg in Ayume-san's mouth. After chewing a little bit, her eyes widened. "Mother of all egg rolls! Who made this atrocity?!" She exclaimed.
"I did..." I muttered. "Does it taste bad?"
"Eira-chan, even I wouldn't feed this to my dog. That would be animal abuse." Ayume-san shook her head. "Are you a rich girl or something?"
"T-that's..." My lips tugged downwards.
"Cut her some slack, Ayume. There's a first time for everything, Eira-chan! You'll improve, don't worry!" She laughed, then took another bite of my egg rolls. "I used to believe that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. So I gave bentos to Kuroo-san for a solid month. He especially loved the grilled salted mackerel pike." She grinned.
"Why did you stop?" I asked.
"Well, I later learned that his mom is a chef. So then it kinda struck me that he only accepted my bentos because he's just being polite. It doesn't compare to what his mom feeds him."
I nodded as I chew on my egg rolls, wondering about the newly gained information about Kuroo-san. So his mother is a chef. That's lovely. How does it feel to taste your mother's cooking though? I don't even remember tasting my mother's home-cooked meal. It was always the family chef preparing our meals for us. But I don't blame her, she wouldn't have the time to cook because she's a very busy woman.
After classes, I did my Literature club activities and went on my way to the convenience store to grab our necessities for the next few days.
"A chef, huh...?" I wondered aloud, choosing what bentos I should buy.
I don't even know if it is ideal for Hanako to eat instant bento given that she's sick but I think I'll only make her sicker if I cooked her dinner. Is there even instant porridge in here? She needs a few days of rest so she wouldn't be able to cook our meals. I have realized that the kitchen is not for me at the moment. Maybe I should practice.
